Nial couldn't care less about having fewer opponents in the second round.
With only around 150 other Runiciers in the second round, everything would become much easier for him.
This was especially the case since he received six hours to fix the flaws in his runic armaments, or some of them, at least.
Not everything was fixable in six hours, and the duration was definitely not long enough to fix all the Tier-0 runic armaments he created or the 10 Tier-1 runic armaments he made.
Nonetheless, Nial used his time to equip all the 10 Runic puppets with special equipment. Nial even got to know that he could change the Runic puppet's 'occupation', which was basically a change in their mindset and their tactics.
A total of 6 Runic Puppets were focused on close-range, three were long-range combatants and one was a Supportive character.
Each Runic Puppet was equipped with a Tier-0 sword, whether they knew how to wield a sword or not. This was to make sure that the four Runic Puppets, who wouldn't usually participate in close combat were still able to defend themselves if necessary.
As for the remaining weapons, the close-combat Runic Puppets received the remaining Tier-0 Runic swords and Runic Spears.
He had his reason for giving all of them so much equipment but it was obviously something he would keep a secret.
After he adjusted the protective garments a tiny bit to fit the Runic puppets to near perfection, Nial was quite satisfied. He fixed some flaws of the Tier-1 runic armaments he had created for the Runic Puppets by adding a few lines in the runic constellations to improve them and equipped them with the runic armaments one after another.
The duration of six hours elapsed quickly and Nial was somewhat satisfied with the final result. It was much better than he could have anticipated.
He released his range of perception to visualize the armored Runic Puppets of the other participants. Nial noticed that he was one of the only participants, who bothered equipping all his Runic Puppets with three pieces of equipment. In fact, every single puppet had, at least, two weapons, if not three or more.
This was quite out of the ordinary and it was frowned upon by many of the other participants.
However, Nial couldn't be less bothered about their opinion, or the fact that they presumed their way to be the only correct one.
Most followed the simple idea of creating the exact same swords 6 times, to manufacture two bows of the exact same type, and two Wands of the exact type as well.
One could even say that they were replicas, which was quite baffling because Nial was clearly able to tell that even their runic constellations were the same and that they were at the exact same position.
This was plain stupid, especially since metal was a living being with mana veins. One had to precisely sense the Mana veins to engrave the runic constellations at the intersections of the mana veins to receive the best result. And they seemed to have forgotten the fundamental fact that every piece of metal did not have the mana veins at the exact same location!
"Did they just copy-paste what they've learned? To get the points they needed to be placed in the top 200?" Nial mumbled in confusion, not trying to hide that he was baffled by what he perceived.
The others frowned at him but nobody said anything because it was considered rude to speak with other participants during the tournament.
Nial's work was considered extremely disgusting and crude by others, especially since his talent as a blacksmith was visibly bad. He didn't mind their gazes that were filled with various emotions, mostly to make fun of him, and he accepted them as an encouragement to work even harder.
[6 Hours passed and the preparatory work of the 2nd round will come to an end now. Fortunately, 10 more participants have arrived, which means that a total of 161 participants are present.
157 participants will continue with the second round which will begin at any moment. The 10 Runic Puppets of each Participant will fight against groups of beasts. New beasts will emerge when the previous group has been defeated or the allocated time has passed. Each monster kill will provide a certain amount of points according to their mana core's rank!
Let the slaughter begin!] The president explained the 2nd round without going into further details.
There was more information shown in the holographic screen that appeared in the middle of nowhere but Nial couldn't read it.
He understood the rules of the second round pretty well because it was simple.
His Runic Puppets would fight monsters, he would get points until he passed the final round or his Runic Puppets were destroyed. Because he understood the basics of the second round, Nial was able to calm down.
Nial was pretty confident that everything he had done in the first round would allow him to pass the second round as well.
He sighed in relief, which didn't really help him because something else bothered him quite a bit.
'Why are 4 participants missing? If 161 participants are present, why don't all of them participate?' He wondered in doubt.
In response to his doubt, Nial released his range of perception and enhanced it with his [Mana Sense] supplied with as much mana as he required to find the four participants.
It took him not even five minutes to find the missing participants but what he visualized was definitely not great.
'They're about to die?' Nial realized, clearly sensing that one human had lost his leg, a Stilak's entire abdomen was cut open while the two others had already died after succumbing to the severe injuries they sustained.
All of the participants had a single injury on their bodies, but this injury was lethal enough to kill them.
A few Originals with healing abilities were crowded around the human and the Stilak but it didn't seem like the Stilak could be saved.
Only the human had a tiny probability of surviving, which shocked Nial a bit.
'Just what the hell is going on?! I knew that the U21 Runicier tournament would be a bit bloody but if I remember correctly there had never been more than one or two casualties in between the tournament rounds…Bodyguards follow all of the Runiciers who passed the rounds to ensure their safety, after all…' Nial was baffled.
He knew that the U21 Runicier tournament would be dangerous but it seemed like this year things would go awry. Goosebumps sprang upon his entire body and Nial began to question the safety of his mission.
p
As an Original with only three Origin rings, he was merely at the 3rd Mirae rank. All the other participants of the U21 Runicier tournament were, at least, at the Peak of the Mirae rank. In fact, it was more likely for them to be at the Prometheus rank.
That was why Nial knew how lucky he had been.
[The first participant, who achieved the highest ranking in the first round shall stay in the Colosseum's arena, while the others may take a seat.] Card Melphy's voice pulled Nial out of his train of thoughts.
The President of the Golden Armaments Union sounded rather calm, despite the unease he must be feeling. Nial was impressed by this, but he also presumed that the President was more worried about his own students rather than anything else.
Out of the 10 Union disciples, who had participated in the U21 Runicier tournament, only seven passed the first round, and only five appeared in the second round.
Two Runiciers of the Golden Armaments Union must have been killed, abducted, or simply prevented from joining the second round, which subtly hinted that the Golden Armaments Union had nothing to do with the disappearing participants.
'The interval between the second and third round shouldn't be that far apart because we won't be tired out in the second round. That means it will only become problematic the moment we get closer to the final rounds…' Nial was already thinking of ways to escape the mysterious murderer.
He had no idea, who the murderer was, what exactly his or her mission was, or if he was one of the targets. Nial knew that he had to expect the worst, which was why his mind began to rattle.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't even witness how the first Challenger of the second round was faring with his 10 Runic Puppets.
All of them were equipped with powerful Runic weapons, one of them had a mighty shield, and another one had a large quiver filled with various types of Runic arrows. The arrows were the biggest reason for the Runicier's high number of points in the first round because every single arrow counted as a Tier-1 runic armament.
Time passed slowly and the Runic Puppets fought their way through their opponents. A large herd of more than a hundred beasts fought against the 10 Runic Puppets.
Both sides were roughly at the same mana core rank, and the only differences between them were the superior equipment on the side of the Runic Puppets and the high numerical advantage on the side of the Lightning Panthers.
The equipment of the Runic Puppets was not repaired after every round, which was why they got worn out. Nial smiled when he noticed this, but this didn't really change his opinion of the dangers all around them.
'Should I try looking for Siegfried again?' He wondered for a moment before shaking his head. The old man wouldn't help him of his own volition. Siegfried did whatever he wanted and he would demand something in exchange for providing Nial with protection.
Nial's mind rattled trying to figure out what was going on. In the end, he didn't perceive anyone suspicious with his range of perception and [Mana Sense] fully unleashed.
However, during the last few days and weeks, he noticed that there were many people and objects that could block his [Mana Sense].
It was not as if the mysterious murderer, if there was only one, to begin with, would run around openly staring at their next targets.
Nial understood this pretty clearly and it was quite frustrating if one were to ask him.
Unfortunately, there was not much for him to do other than be suspicious of everyone around him and act vigilantly.
This was contradictory to the goal of his mission but staying alive was far more important than winning.
With that thought in mind, he turned his attention to the fighting Runic Puppets. The highest-ranked participant of the first round was still watching over the Runic Puppets under his control.
Three of them had already been torn apart, and the other Runic Puppets didn't look like they would hold on for much longer either.
Nial perceived everything clearly around him, which was how he could tell that the first participant's fight would end soon.
'Looks like I will do decently in the second round if everyone faces the same monsters…that's good…I guess?'
**
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